Meloni’s ‘Melody’ Joke Triggers Political War Between BJP and Congress
By Our Correspondent
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday launched a sharp attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi after a viral video showed Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni joking about “Melody” toffees gifted by Modi during his visit to Rome.
Using the light-hearted moment to target the government’s economic policies, Rahul Gandhi accused the Prime Minister of remaining disconnected from the hardships faced by ordinary citizens. In a post on social media, the Congress MP wrote in Hindi that while the country was heading toward an “economic storm,” the Prime Minister was busy distributing toffees in Italy.
Rahul Gandhi Questions Government’s Priorities
Stepping up his criticism, Gandhi said farmers, labourers, women, unemployed youth and small traders were struggling under rising economic pressure while the government focused on image-building and publicity.
“Farmers, youth, women, labourers and small traders are crying, while the Prime Minister is smiling, making reels and BJP leaders are applauding,” Gandhi said in a strongly worded post.
Calling the situation “theatrics rather than leadership,” Gandhi alleged that the government was more concerned with optics than addressing pressing economic concerns.
Meloni’s ‘Melody’ Remark Sparks Online Buzz
The controversy erupted after Giorgia Meloni shared a video on social media in which she humorously thanked Modi for gifting her “a very, very good toffee — Melody.” Modi, standing beside the Italian leader, was seen laughing as Meloni playfully displayed the confectionery gift.
The video quickly went viral, drawing reactions across social media platforms and reigniting the popular “Melodi” trend online.
‘Melodi’ Hashtag Returns
The now-famous “Melodi” phrase — a combination of Modi and Meloni’s names — first became popular during the COP28 summit in Dubai in 2023. Meloni had then shared a selfie with Modi captioned, “Good friends at COP28,” along with the hashtag “Melodi.”
Since then, the hashtag has repeatedly resurfaced whenever the two leaders have shared warm interactions during international meetings, often generating widespread discussion and memes on social media.